Last year, my monthly reading round-ups got away from me. I was beginning to find them a bit of a chore and combined with a decline in the number of books I was reading, there didn’t seem as much point.
Instead of a monthly post, in the summer I published an overview of the books I read in the first six months of the year.
So that means I get to do another list of my reading for the second part of the year…
July
The Diabolical Club, by Stevyn Colgan
The sequel to A Murder to Die For takes us back to South Herewardshire – where something strange is happening in the woods – for another bizarre crime caper with a cast of characters including school teachers, archaeologists and animal rights campaigners.
Distress Signals, by Catherine Ryan Howard
When Adam’s girlfriend fails to come back from a work trip to Spain, he is devastated to discover she’s been having an affair. While his friends believe she’s left him, he is soon convinced that something more sinister had happened. Tracing her to a cruise ship, he uncovers a frightening pattern of missing women that no one seems to take seriously.
August
The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas, by Daniel James
When journalist Daniel James is asked to write a biography of reclusive artist Ezra Maas, who disappeared seven years earlier, he is quickly drawn into the frightening world of The Maas Foundation, a shadowy organisation determined to protect the legacy of the artist at any cost.
Animals Eat Each Other, by Elle Nash
In this beautiful, sparsely written debut novel, a young woman is drawn into an all-consuming affair with a couple that threatens to tear all their lives apart.
Leonard and Hungry Paul, by Ronan Hession
One of my favourite books of the year is a moving and uplifting story of two young men who lead quiet lives, mostly detached from the world around them. As things begin to change, both are forced to confront the future and decide to take a chance on something new.
September
Evening Primrose, by Kopano Matlwa
A powerful story about race, poverty and misogyny in post-Apartheid South Africa, following a junior doctor as she deals with traumatic events.
October
Something to Live For, by Richard Roper
Andrew works for the local council, tracking down friends and family of those who die alone. His colleagues think he’s a family man, but they don’t know that he’s hiding a secret tragedy. When a new woman joins the team and befriends him, his past may be revealed.
The Testaments, by Margaret Atwood
The much anticipated sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale follows the lives of three women in and around Gilead, years after the original story was set.
November
Melmoth, by Sarah Perry
A Gothic tale of a woman whose friend discovers a manuscript filled with stories of people who encountered the brooding figure of a woman bearing a chilling message.
The Hunting Party, by Lucy Foley
A group of university friends spend New Year’s Eve in a remote, luxury lodge in Scotland where they plan to drink, eat and have as much fun as they did years ago. But the weather takes an unexpected turn and they find themselves snowed in when a murder takes place…
December
The Naseby Horses, by Dominic Brownlow
Seventeen-year-old Simon’s twin sister, Charlotte, is missing. As his distraught family wait for news, Simon becomes convinced that there is a supernatural explanation for his sister’s disappearance: a mysterious curse that plagues the Fenlands village where they live.
Dark Pines, by Will Dean
Journalist Tuva Moodyson lives in a small Swedish town where she covers the local news. When a local man is discovered brutally killed in the depths of the forest, she fears a serial killer may have returned.
So, what did you read in 2019?